IMF: Palestinian Economy Is Growing

The Palestinian economy grew by a resounding 9% in the West Bank and 16% in Gaza through the first half of 2010, due to the easing of Israeli restrictions, donor aid and aggressive financial-sector overhauls by the Palestinian Authority, the IMF said.

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The Palestinian economy grew by a resounding 9% in the West Bank and 16% in Gaza through the first half of 2010, due to the easing of Israeli restrictions, donor aid and aggressive financial-sector overhauls by the Palestinian Authority, the IMF said.

Cairo (AFP) - Top envoys gather in Cairo Sunday for a conference aimed at raising billions of dollars to rebuild war-battered Gaza, as Washington urges Israel and the Palestinians to revive peace talks.

By Diaa Hadid RAMALLAH, West Bank - Gaza's war-battered economy is on the "verge of collapse," dragged down by soaring unemployment rates that followed last summer's war with Israel, border restrictions and government dysfunction, the World Bank says in a new report. Infighting between Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, the report said, is delaying reconstruction of the tiny territory, which suffered widespread damage during the war.

The easing of the Israeli blockade allowed the Gaza Strip's economy to grow 16 percent in the first half of the year, an official at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday.But he cautioned that the growth came after years of strict closures that devastated the economy and said that continued expansion there and in the occupied West Bank depended on the further easing of restrictions."It's starting from a very low base after a very tight blockade," said Oussama Kanaan, the IMF representative in the West Bank and Gaza.

WEST BANK — A Palestinian official has admitted that the Palestinian boycott of goods made in Israel is faltering, both because of a lack of substitutes for Israeli products, and the dissipation of some of the anger toward Israel over last summer’s fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip that left more than 2200 Palestinians dead. The boycott is part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, which aims to make Israel pay an economic price for its continued control of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials are warning that the Palestinian Authority could collapse if Israel continues to withhold the $100 million monthly taxes and customs revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA). That would also mean the end of Palestinian security co-operation with Israel – co-operation that Israeli officials say has led to a marked decrease in Palestinian attacks on Israel.

Reuters - A shortfall in donor aid, tough Israeli trade restrictions and diplomatic paralysis are jeopardizing Palestinian efforts to build a viable economy and strong institutions, the IMF and United Nations said in separate reports on Wednesday.